Telematics units within mobile vehicles provide subscribers with connectivity to a telematics service provider (TSP). The TSP provides subscribers with an array of services ranging from emergency call handling and stolen vehicle recovery to diagnostics monitoring, global navigation system aided position identification, map services, and turn-by-turn navigation assistance. Telematics units are often provisioned and activated at a point of sale when a subscriber purchases a telematics-equipped vehicle. Upon activation, the telematics unit can be utilized to provide a subscriber with an array of telematics services such as those described herein.
The process of provisioning and activating a telematics unit involves the acquisition and registration by the service provider of unique identifiers associated with a particular telematics unit which are stored on a chip or memory card integrated into that telematics unit. Additionally, if the subscriber wishes to link additional mobile devices to the TSP, the provider must acquire and register the unique identifiers for those linked devices. For example, a subscriber may wish to link a smart phone or tablet to the account in order to receive services through such mobile devices. The provisioning and activating processes may need to be repeated if a telematics equipped vehicle is sold to a new purchaser, if the subscriber replaces a previously linked mobile device, if the subscriber acquires a new mobile device and wishes to link it to the telematics services, if the subscriber changes mobile providers for one of his devices, etc.
Methods for maintaining correct identifiers for subscriber devices and for updating subscriber device identifiers help TSPs to ensure that services may be provided to subscribers efficiently and effectively when they are requested. Errors in the device identification information maintained by the service provider may prevent the service provider from contacting and providing services, which may be designed to avert or minimize the consequences of emergency situations, to subscribers.